'Trunki' maker rescued from administration

By Hamish Champ

Posted 6 December 2012

Nearly 50 jobs at the company which manufactures the ‘Trunki’ ride-on suitcase have been saved after the business went into administration.

According to SFP, the insolvency practitioners which handled the case, Plymouth-based Inject Plastics Limited went into administration after getting into significant – though unspecified – debt, with monies owed to the tax authorities and trade customers.

Magmatic's Rob Law brought production of the 'Trunki' back to the UK last year.

SFP said they worked with boutique corporate finance firm Shaw & Co to arrange a sale of Inject Plastics to Magmatic Limited, whose managing director Rob Law created the ‘Trunki’ several years ago.

Inject Plastics had been bought for an undisclosed sum, according to a Magmatic spokeswoman contacted by PRW.

"We first learned that the business was in difficulty in the middle of November. We are committed to running what is going to be known as Magma Moulding. This is not a quick fix, rather it is a long term solution," she added.

Magma Moulding would be keeping Inject Plastics' 50 staff on, she added, including the company's boss Richard Bromley, and Magmatic was committed to moulding products for Inject Plastics' existing customers.

Speaking of the deal to sell the business to Magmatic, SFP group partner Simon Plant said the difficulties being experienced in certain quarters of the manufacturing industry and retail sectors have had a direct impact on firms like Inject Plastics Limited.

"When cash gets tight, and your backers become nervous, it can be tempting to do nothing and hope that the situation will improve, rather than taking swift action that can help turn a business around.

“We are happy in this case to have successfully achieved a sale of the business and assets as a going concern to a third party that has ensured the continuation of trade and ensured the workforce remains employed.”